12 Developmental Milestones of a 22 Month Old Baby

As your child's second birthday approaches, the most enthralling milestones are in the 22 months. As toddlers grow up, this is the time for physical, cognitive, emotional, and social growth. These developments are crucial in determining how much progress a child has made and what needs to be done for this child in the future concerning their needs.

Let’s take a look below and learn about the developmental milestones of a 22 Month Old baby and safety tips for them.

When they reach this age, a 22 month old should be trying to discover every bit of their environment and what's within their reach in a slightly different and more independent way. Precision movements are handy, as they can grasp tiny objects and turn the pages of a book.

Language is developing rapidly, with many children able to speak a few words, use basic sentences, and comprehend several commands at this age. They also undergo more cognitive and intellectual development, as they can identify specific objects, people, and how things are done.

Movement Milestones for a 22 month old:

• Displays confidence in walks and starts running more efficiently.
• Climbs on and off the furnishing with little effort.
• Can push the ball forward and once in a while attempts to throw it.
• Tries to jump with both feet off the ground.
• Able to ascend and descend steps with help, usually using a handrail or steering grip.
• Can squat for items and pull themselves up with no unswerving.
• While walking, they can push and pull toys.
• Has an interest in music and shows it by dancing and swaying.

Visual Milestones:

Below are the common milestones that occur in the development milestones of a 22 month old baby.

• Improved Depth Perception: Infants are also able to estimate distances, which makes it possible for babies to avoid hurdles, crawl height, and run with balance.
• Object Recognition: Infants can recollect the faces of loved ones, items, and locations regardless of their position.
• Tracking Moving Objects: By now, children can easily focus on quick-moving objects like a rolling ball and move their eyes along with them.
• Interest in Pictures and Books: They enjoy babies' books and looking at the pictures, and the child points to things, suggesting their visual development.

Hearing Milestones:

With the visual milestones, toddlers also develop their hearing senses. The common ones are:

• Responding to Name: A 22 month old may quite accurately and consistently respond to their name and follow instructions such as “come here” or “sit down.”
• Recognising Familiar Sounds: Children can also begin to differentiate sounds they hear, such as a parent's voice and the sound of a doorbell.
• Increased Vocabulary: They can listen to or learn new words and copy them, increasing their vocabulary, sometimes even a couple or several words in a week.
• Responding to Music and Rhythms: Babies respond to songs by moving their bodies or trying out a few lyrics, which shows the development of hearing.

Smell Milestones:

A 22 month old baby can recognise various scents and smells. They can differentiate and choose smells to their liking:

• Recognition of Familiar Scents: Toddlers at this age can recall and appreciate some scent cues, such as caregivers, food items, or any other items.
• Curiosity About New Smells: By the age of two, children begin to show interest in new scents or fresh-smelling things like flowers, plants, or other things around them.
• Reaction to Strong Smells: A young child may respond more clearly to a firm or offensive smell and light up from the feeling or recoil from the sensation.

Touch Milestones:

The sensory touch teaches the 22 month old various aspects of feel:

• Exploratory Skills with the Help of Touch: Toddlers like to reach and grasp different objects to use them, and in the process, they explore various textures.
• Ability to Improve Fine Motor Function: They cannot sense and move smaller objects around.
• Temperature Awareness: A 22 month old toddler learns to differentiate between hot and cold items and responds appropriately to disproportional temperatures.
• Sensory Play Interest: They show interest in playing with certain materials, such as sand or clay, which allows them to experience sensitive things.

Sleep Milestones for a 22 month old:

Sleep is crucial for toddlers. It aids in their overall health and helps them stay active:

• Total Sleep Duration: Most 22 month olds need about 11 to 14 hours of sleep in 24 hours, from night to daytime.
• Night Sleep: At this stage, toddlers sleep for about 10 to 12 hours, with fewer waking up at night.
• Naps: A 22 month old takes one nap during the day that lasts 1 to 3 hours. By this age, they accomplish the transition to one nap.
• Bedtime Rituals: Routines are crucial for children, and promoting a regular bedtime routine makes it easy for them to sleep.
• Night Waking: Some wake-ups at very unusual hours may still be common owing to sharp dental growth and dreaming, among other changes.

Feeding Milestones for a 22 month old:

22 month old babies can develop skills in eating and preferences in their diet:

• Self-Feeding Skills: At this age, most toddlers can use a spoon and fork without many challenges but may still require assistance with more complex foods. This helps develop their motor skills and hand-eye coordination.
• Variation in Diet: At this stage, the toddler even begs for foods, including fruits, meat, vegetables, grains, and dairy products. Provide their growing bodies with a variety of foods to help them.
• Texture Preferences: Children have texture preferences and usually choose some over others. The amount of meat and other such meals cut into bites should be sufficient to cater to their level of chewing and their texture preference.
• Portion Control: It is also important to note that, unlike adults, children may eat less food, but this can vary. Social studies have shown that a few small meals and snacks daily help satisfy their hunger.

What They Can Eat:

Below are some of the healthy foods they can eat:

• Fruits: Soft fruits such as pears, bananas, apples (cut and peeled), and berries.
• Vegetables: Cooked and finely chopped carrots, peas, sweet potatoes etc.
• Grains: Whole grain cereals, bread and pasta.
• Proteins: Morsels of chicken, fish, tofu, or even eggs (scrambled).
• Dairy: Yogurt, cheese, and milk.

Here are key cognitive milestones for a 22 month old:

Below is a list of the cognitive skills that a 22-year-old develops:

• Problem-Solving Skill: They'll learn that they can turn the knob to open the door, for instance, or use blocks to make a small tower. Their minds put things together when a problem occurs.
• Memory and Recognition: Memories of familiar faces, activities, and objects emerge more than previously. For instance, they can recall where their toys are kept or identify some people in a group.
• Learning Cause and Effect: For example, they understand that pressing a button on a toy makes a sound or that there are lights that come on and may engage in continuous actions that aim at producing the same result.
• Language Comprehension: They begin to obey simple instructions or ask and answer questions. They can do simple tasks such as bringing the ball when told or based on the phrase 'let's go out.'
• Imitation and Pretend Play: Children tend to copy their parents' actions with their toys or create make-believe scenarios with them, showing how they are learning to do such things in real life.

Social and Emotional Milestones for a 22 month old:

Twenty-second-month-old development also includes social skills and interactions with people and surroundings:

• Increase in Social Interaction: They show interest in groups but need to improve at taking turns as they begin comprehending sharing.
• Developing Empathy: Children will also begin to show empathy for other people's emotions, such as seeking out a friend who is crying and trying to comfort them.
• Imitative Play: Imitative play begins to be intense, with children copying other children's or adults' actions.
• Expressing Preferences: They may want to play with specific friends or engage in some activities that differ from those of their peer children.
• Showing Independence: Still, they would want to do things like feed themselves or dress the way they want so that they control their environment.
• Understanding Basic Social Rules: Saying bye to someone or waving back might start emerging with the children saying 'bye' or doing the action.

Language and Communication Milestones Development for a 22 month old:

The 22 month old language milestone includes development in their communication skills. Some developments that one can expect are:

• Vocabulary Growth: At 22 months, toddlers know around 50-100 simple words, many of which may surpass that. These include names, objects, and body parts.
• Combining Words: Many toddlers will begin to combine two to three words to form a simple sentence, such as requesting 'more milk' or asking for a 'big car.'
• Following Simple Instructions: They can perform concise actions such as 'bring the ball' or 'sit down,' indicating that the toddler understands some simple words.
• Pointing and Gesturing: Toddlers will engage in activities like waving without verbal communication, which are significant elements of language acquisition.

Fine Motor Milestones for a 22 month old:

• Improved Grasp and Manipulation: Toddlers can pick and hold tiny objects between their indices and thumbs.
• Self-Feeding Abilities: Most 22 month old children can manage a spoon or fork independently with increasing success but still require occasional assistance.
• Simple Actions with Objects: Toddlers are turning pages in books, improving their hand-eye coordination, and can also stack blocks.

Physical Milestones for a 22 month old:

• Walking and Running: Walking is accomplishable, and for the first time, toddlers will try to walk with a connection to running, but they sometimes are wobbly.
• Climbing: They will likely become more expert and climb the furniture underneath their low barriers.
• Fine Motor Skills: The level of dexterity also improves. Hence, they can grasp tiny items, flip through book leaves, and control rudimentary equipment.
• Balance and Coordination: As their stabilisers become more effective, they can maintain a single-leg stand position and kick a ball.
• Gross Motor Skills: They will probably make the first leaps over the obstacles and squat down, letting their arms drape over any toys on the floor shove.
• Hand-Eye Co-Ordination: Coordination increases, allowing essential toys and other manipulative activities for the subjects and helping activities.

1. Building with Blocks

2. Pretend Play

3. Art and Craft Activities

4. Sensory Play

5. Simple Puzzles

6. Music and Movement

7. Outdoor Exploration

8. Water Play

9. Interactive Books

10. Sorting and Matching Games

1. Stimulate Language Development

2. Encourage Problem Solving

3. Establish Daily Routines

4. Promote Emotional Expression

5. Encourage Independence

Behavioural Problems:

Dietary Problems:

Sleep-related Disorders:

Accidents:

Vaccine Concerns:

Other Symptoms: